The ICM poll conducted for the Guardian puts the No campaign ahead on 51 per cent (Source: Getty)

The latest poll on Scottish independence is out, and it makes the race too close to call.

The ICM poll conducted for the Guardian puts the No campaign ahead on 51 per cent, but Yes Scotland is only two percentage points behind on 49 per cent, once don't knows were excluded.

The poll will provide Alex Salmond with some much-needed breathing space after what seemed like the entire Westminster establishment travelled north of the border this week to make the case for the union.

The poll was based on telephone interviews carried out between Tuesday and Thursday. The poll reveals there is all to play for in the final days of the campaign with 17 per cent of voters in the sample saying they haven't made up their minds.

The poll comes on the same day that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) voiced concerns that a Yes vote on 18 September could trigger "negative market reactions".

Last night, a YouGov poll put the No vote at 52 per cent and the Yes vote at 48 per cent.

The past 48 hours have seen a wave of banks and business leaders warning of the damaging economic consequences of Scottish secession. The Yes campaign have dismissed many of the concerns raised as "scaremongering".